Charles Bal’s third compilation for Smiling C. And anyone familiar with the first two can hardly be blamed for feeling… momentarily disoriented. With American Dream Reserve and Black Rain, the curator pulled off something of a balancing act: sugar certainly dripped from the grooves, but Adult Oriented Rock and pop were bent at just the right moments. The productions were often muted (lo-fi), the lyrics oddly wondrous, the momentum surprising precisely when it needed to be. In other words: weird enough to earn that coveted stamp – »Outsider«.
Neon Castle is different. The artists here almost certainly washed their hair on the day of recording. Very likely used hairspray. Perfume, too. The productions are crisp, the songs fully fleshed out. Nothing is out of place. Everything runs smoothly. Nine times over: hazy, gently flowing yacht rock and pristine, all-female 80s pop. Anyone expecting the obscure will, startled by the glare of the disco ball, quietly switch off their flashlight; radio listeners, meanwhile, will shrug and celebrate the finest cocktail party their local scene has to offer.
Neon Castle
